Many Americans are having second thoughts
about the war hysteria gripping the US.

Americans are beginning to ponder the rationale behind fighting a war in
which the outcome is not only uncertain, but guaranteed to see many innocent
lives taken. Many did not find solace in US President George W Bush's
statement to Congress in which he warned that "the course of this conflict
is unknown, yet its outcome is certain."

On Saturday and Sunday thousands took to the streets in Washington DC in
peace marches and rallies that brought together a mélange of ordinary
Americans, political activists, students, local human rights organisations
and anarchists. They were protesting the coming war and heightened anti-Arab
and anti-Muslim sentiments in the wake of the 11 September attacks on New
York and Washington.

Banners and signs read "Don't dishonor the dead by killing in their name"
and "An eye for an eye makes the world blind". The demonstrations were the
biggest so far of many protest gatherings across the country that have
increasingly reflected a concern over the ethics and morality of the coming
war. Some speakers and protesters at the rallies questioned not only Bush's
management of the crisis but his legitimacy to govern.

"Both want war, both unelected" one poster read alongside pictures of Bush
and Osama Bin Laden. As thousands marched toward Capital Hill on Saturday,
many were chanting "No War in our name, Islam is not to blame". Many
speakers denounced the racial profiling of Arabs, Muslims and Asians that
gained added legitimacy after the 11 September attacks. One African American
speaker noted how "There was no racial profiling of white guys with crew
cuts after the Oklahoma City bombing," a reference to convicted bomber
Timothy McVeigh.

Other speakers warned against the trampling over of the Bill of Rights and
other civil liberties on the path to increased security. Policy analyst
Phyllis Bennis explained increasing vocal outcry against the war as the
result of the lack of any transition period between grief and war. "The
people are beginning to resent not being given time to mourn," she said. "We
were rushed through the mourning into a war build-up" she said.

Coverage of the weekend rallies and other anti-war gatherings, vigils and
student activism on campuses across the country have largely been ignored by
the drum-beating mainstream media, or buried in obscure places inside
newspapers. The participation of anarchists who advocate the destruction of
the capitalist system was highlighted in media coverage in an effort to
drown the legitimate concerns of the many more ordinary Americans.
Similarly, TV footage gave prominence to the marginal incidents of violence
involving the anarchists at the rally on Saturday.

Public opinion polls indicating that 90 per cent of Americans surveyed
support the coming war have been extensively quoted by media voices in
newspapers and on TV. Mary Lou Greenburg, a self-declared communist and
feminist who came from New York to attend the DC peace demonstrations,
acknowledged that the findings represent some sentiments among the public,
but cautioned against sweeping generalisations. "The message of those polls
is generally to tell the people what they should be thinking."

Citing the writings of philosopher and linguist Noam Chomsky, Greenburg
talked about the role of the corporate media in the US in "controlling the
public mind" and mobilising community opinion in favour of vapid, empty
concepts, like Americanism.

The national media watch group FAIR has criticised what it sees as the many
media voices that have enlisted in the administration's push towards war.
FAIR founder Jeff Cohen noted that CBS anchor Dan Rather seemed "more
soldier than reporter" on a popular late-night talk show when he endorsed
the war drive.

Appallingly little attention has been devoted in the mainstream media to
obtaining justice through international law and UN sanctioned processes.
Many experts of international law insist that the Bush administration has
yet to present evidence to substantiate its claim that this is an act of war
-- not a crime against humanity.

Francis Boyle, the renowned professor of international law at the University
of Illinois College of Law, said: "Even if the Bush administration were to
publicly provide clear and convincing evidence that Mr Bin Laden and his
organisation were somehow behind the terrorist bombings in New York and
Washington, the United States government would still have no valid
justification or excuse for committing acts of war against Afghanistan. Both
the United Nations Charter of
1945 and the Kellogg-Briand Pact of 1928
(text-only)
absolutely require the United States to exhaust all means for the peaceful
resolution of this dispute. So far the Bush administration has not even
begun this legally mandated process."

Boyle, who helped resolve the dispute between the US, the UK and Libya over
the handling of the Libyan suspects in the Lockerbie bombing case, believes
that the 1971 Montreal Sabotage Convention, which was invoked in the
Lockerbie crisis, is directly relevant in the current crisis. The same
convention, he says, "provides a comprehensive framework for dealing with
the current dispute between Afghanistan and the United States."

Clearly, Professor Boyle's views are not common. An appearance on the Fox
News Channel with the right-wing pundit Bill O'Reilly on 13 September seems
to have branded Boyle an undesirable guest. After the show, in which he
argued for presentation of evidence, for authorisation from the Security
Council and for adherence to the rule of law, Boyle has not been invited
again to speak on any prime-time news programmes.

Pleas for nonviolence have largely been dismissed as pacifist claptrap.
Among those cautioning against the war is the African American Reverend
Graylan Hagler, pastor of the Plymouth congregation of the United Christ
Church in DC. Reverend Hagler has led many pro- peace and interfaith
meetings and has spoken out against what he calls "a US foreign policy
organised around a need to dominate [rather] than to cooperate." The
reverend believes that the message he is getting from his parishioners is
one calling for tolerance and peace. "This is not reflected in the media,"
he says, adding, "The media has editorialised, ideologised and has
conditioned the people into blind hysteria."

The voices of dissent are growing by the day. It is not clear, however, to
what extent they can impact the course of the war as American aircraft
carriers continue to arrive in the Persian Gulf. As the anticipated war
fails to discriminate between the alleged terrorists and the innocent, it
will be even harder for those Americans I saw at the anti-war rallies to
make sense of what they inscribed earlier on their signs: "I would like to
be able to love my country and justice at the same time."